Edgemoor Neighborhood Association

Monthly Board Meeting

December 5, 2013

The meeting held in the Library at Fairhaven Middle School was called to order at approximately 7:01pm by ENA President Lylene Johnson. Lauri Grove recorded the minutes.

Minutes: The November meeting minutes were modified and approved.

Agenda: The evening’s agenda was approved.

Introductions:

Treasure’s Report: Diane MacLean

Diane reported she received $350 in donations raising the ENA account balance to $1749.61. She passed around a sample copy of a ‘Thank You’ note/receipt that looked very nice and met with a round of approval.

A suggestion was made to change the bookkeeping that now runs on the calendar year to a fiscal year that would coordinate the budget with our Annual Meeting in June. It certainly seemed to make more sense - there were no objections.

MNAC Report: Diane MacLean

Dr Greg Baker, Superintendent of Bellingham Public Schools, thanked the neighborhoods for supporting the school bond and recapped the many projects that this bond would fund.

Greg Winter, the Director of Whatcom Homeless Service Center talked about advocating for the needy and working to end homelessness in Bellingham through community partnerships and affordable housing. Also, Theresa Meurs a representative from Hope House was present at the meeting. Theresa coordinates the Hope House Street Outreach. The street ministry goes out to where homeless are living to offer comfort, food, clothing, warmth, and connect them with available services. There was a roundtable discussion at the meeting about homeless camps and problems in the community.

The December MNAC meeting would be a party for the neighborhood representatives.

Guest: Vanessa Osage

Vanessa now lives in our neighborhood as an in-home caregiver to Dr Bob Gibb. She created Rooted Emerging, a Coming of Age mentoring program for young people ages 11-15. Participants led by mentors build a “mini-community” to thoughtfully support their transition through puberty and early adulthood. Varying activities for boys and girls could include sharing stories, art, nature exploring, and outdoor adventure - possibly an over-night trip. Rooted Emerging operates in partnership with WSU Extension 4-H. All mentors and teachers are screened through extension services. Vanessa hopes to get the word out to the community about the program and there is a website to check for more details, rootedemerging.org. Thank you.

Nextdoor Edgemoor: Lylene Johnson

Officers Harper and Bean from the Neighborhood Anti-Crime Team have heard us talk at meetings about Nextdoor Edgemoor communication regarding crime in the neighborhood. It’s great that residents are talking to each other to get the word out quickly. They think it might be beneficial to be a part of that communication loop and have asked if they could join. The site is limited to residents so to do so we would have to allow them access. The board discussed this request and thought it might be advantageous to work together but the request would have to meet neighborhood approval.

Business and Issues:

There were a couple meetings about the Chuckanut Community Forest Park District held in December.

• CCFPD meeting on Dec 12^th at the Fairhaven Library
• City of Bellingham and the CCFPD Board joint meeting on Dec 16^th in council Chambers

There was a general discussion about home security systems. Individuals offered what they looked for in a system, why they liked their choice, if there were charges for false alarms, the possibilities to set up cameras and lighting for security… some helpful information.

Closing:

The meeting was adjourned at 8:39pm

We did not a have a meeting in January.

The next meeting will be held 7-9pm on Thursday, February 6th in the Library at Fairhaven Middle School. Everyone is encouraged and welcomed to come meet your neighbors and get to know your neighborhood.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lauri Grove

(Minutes are subject to approval)